FM OP800
| FM OP800 | |
|---|---|
|
A Fairbanks-Morse Model OP800 railcar, former Georgia Northern Railway #2. | |
| Type and origin | |
| Power type | Diesel-electric |
| Builder | St. Louis Car Company |
| Model | OP800 |
| Build date | 1939 |
| Total produced | 6 |
| Specifications | |
| AAR wheel arr. |
2-A1A (as built) later 3-A1A |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Length | 80 feet (24 m) |
| Prime mover | Fairbanks-Morse Opposed-piston |
| Engine type | 2-stroke diesel |
| Aspiration | Roots Blower |
| Cylinders | 5, Opposed piston |
| Cylinder size |
8 in × 10 in (203 mm × 254 mm) |
| Transmission |
Westinghouse DC generator, DC traction motors |
| Performance figures | |
| Maximum speed | 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) |
| Power output | 800 hp (597 kW) |
| Locomotive brake | Straight air |
| Train brakes | 6-ET Air |
| Career | |
| Operator(s) |
Southern Railway, Georgia and Florida Railroad, Georgia Northern Railway |
| Locale | North America |
| Disposition | All scrapped |
The OP800 was a lightweight, streamlined railcar built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1939. Fairbanks-Morse supplied the 800 hp, five-cylinder 8 x 10 opposed piston engine prime mover. The units were configured in a highly-unusual 2-A1A wheel arrangement (later converted to 3-A1A)[1] mounted atop a pair of road trucks, and equipped with a front swing coupler pilot. The aft section was divided into two separate compartments: one was used to transport baggage and the other served as a small railway post office, or RPO (the forward door, located just behind the radiator louvers, was equipped with a mail hook).
Six units, accompanied by matching trailing car sets, were manufactured exclusively for the Southern Railway (SR). Two were later sold to the Georgia and Florida Railroad and Georgia Northern Railway as maintenance cars. The remaining four OP800s were scrapped in 1955; selected parts were retained for maintenance use on other SR F-M motive power.
At least four of these cars had individual names applied to them, including "Vulcan", "Cracker", "Joe Wheeler", and "Goldenrod".[2]
No OP800 units are known to have survived.
See also
- Doodlebug (rail car)
- Seaboard Air Line 2027 & 2028, similar St. Louis Car Company built railcars, powered by EMD
References
- "Fairbanks-Morse 38D8 Diesel Locomotive". PSRM Diesel Locomotives. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter’s Guide. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.
- Kirkland, John F. (November 1985). The Diesel Builders Volume 1: Fairbanks-Morse and Lima-Hamilton. Interurban Press. ISBN 0-916374-69-6.
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